You could make your own easily enough. Put an open hook in a block of wood and on the other end put a crank handle attached to an English style hackle plier.

To use it, string a wire (copper, silver, or gold) between the hackle plier and the open hook. Put the dubbing material on the block, and crank the handle until is forms a dubbing brush. You can also make it out of a low rpm electric motor (no higher than 40 rpm though) and let the motor do the work for you.

You could also use a rotary tying vise to produce dubbing brushes. Just remember to use wire because it will stay together after the dubbing brush is made.

Personally, I'll either split the tying thread9 yes, you can split 8/0 thread), or use floss and split it to produce a dubbing loop. This is far easier than making a loop of thread, just as strong, and if formed from floss (or UNI Stretch), it has a more intense color saturation. Syd Glasso tied his flies with this technique. This technique will also cause you to get very good at using just the right amount of dubbing to form the body with none left over.

The manufacturer of the Turbo Twisting Block is very much in business - and doing quite well.

There are (as of last Saturday) 3 Blocks still available at Ted's Sport Center. Another dozen will be on their shelves in January of 2004. If enough interest in the tool is generated, they'll be available in better fly fishing shops in Puget Sound by Q1 of 2004.

Both HareLine and Orvis have stopped carrying the Block and none exist in their inventories to the best of my knowledge.

If anyone needs more details on the up-coming availability or a ringing endorsement on the Block, just drop me some private e-mail.

I also made one but this turbo block looks nice. I do use the split thread technique whenever I can but also like to use brushes.

I was reading Dick Van Demark's book "Steelhead Fly Fishing in Low Water" and he details a spinning block in this book. Pretty easy to do and works great. The book also contains quite a few interesting dubbing blends. After reading it I am never going to use unblended dubbing again.

All you need is a 2X4 and 4 eye hooks. Here is the sequence I just threw together to get the idea across.

Here is some pictures of the block:

Place 4 eye hooks like shown and cut nothces in the side and bottom of the block. In the notches make sure to slice into them with a razor blade. This helps keep whatever material you are using for a dubbing loop locked in:

Take you dubbing loop material and knot it to form a loop and place in the block like shown:

Place in your dubbing material on the single strand:

Place the other side of the loop on top of the materials like so (of course the dubbing should be laid on better):

Then just spin the loop. Lightly wax the floss/thread as this will help keep your dubbing noodle from unwinding when you take it off the block.

I really like my spinning block. However, I admire the guys committed to doing it with devices of their own making. I kind of look at it like this, I wouldn't try to do a brake job with just a pair of vise grips. I always make sure I have the right sockets, torx, wrenches, compressors, etc.

This block is set with a hook on a weighted, ball bearing spinner. One flip of the finger and you have a dubbing rope in seconds that wont come apart. I'm having so much fun with it, I just spin stuff up and stick it in a zip lock baggy for later. I'll bet I can turn out five dubbing brushes in the time it takes me to split 6/0 thread and dub the shank of a hook and I've been tying since I was a kid in 1968.

Anyway, if Ted's sells out then everyone will have to make one or stick to the tried and true method splitting thread or dubbing loops.

I am still wondering about my original question. What else can one spin into a dubbing rope? What feathers work best? Half inch lengths of flashabou sucks, but gliss and glo works great. Any other ideas?

Speybum makes great dubbing brushes by sticking a rabbit fur strip in the loop and cutting off the hide. He then spins that. You get the same great rabbit action but it sinks much better as the hide has been removed.

I would get a block like yours but a norvise is on its way for xmas and you get the same results.

I have produced spey hackle from Amherst tail feathers and a wire core - I used the Roots machine, as you have to be able to stop the machine and pick the fibres out as you go allong. It sounds like a lot of work but actualy goes fast if you do a batch and get into the process - I will try and post some photos in the next week
speydoc